A who's who of American and Chinese environmental leaders came to San Francisco Friday to start a critical dialogue about global warming. It is hoped the U.S. China Green Energy Conference will help forge relationships that will create a future of environmental problem solving. It brought together clean energy policymakers, researchers, business people and investors from the two countries. Among the topics discussed, according to participant Mark Levine, head of Berkeley Lab’s China Energy Group, were the financial aspects of greening and education. Go here to watch the segment.

Dark-Matter Particles
Claim by Researchers

A team of Italian and Chinese physicists last week renewed a controversial claim that they had detected the mysterious dark matter particles that astronomers say swaddle the galaxies in halos and direct the evolution of the universe. Berkeley Lab physicist Bernard Sadoulet, who was present at the conference where the findings were unveiled, said “The tension between the measurements of this group and the rest of the community is increasing.” He added that it would take time to digest the team’s results. Full story.

Trim PC Waste: Turn Off
Or More Efficient Models

Though it is the smartest device in the house, the desktop computer has been dumb when it comes to conserving energy. It's as if every household has a big, gas-guzzling vehicle (or two) in its driveway, all with engines racing. Most people have more computer than they need, says Bruce Nordman, with Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division. "It's like we're all driving sport utility computers." But few PC owners bother to automatically power them down. Full story.

SPECIAL EVENTS

SLAC Summer School
On Ultrafast X-Ray

The Stanford Linear Accelerator Center is hosting a summer-school session on ultrafast x-rays, June 17-20. The school will disseminate information about scientific opportunities in ultrafast science with particular emphasis on the new ultrafast x-ray science opportunities that will occur at Free Electron Laser (FEL) facilities. Students at Berkeley Lab are invited to attend. The deadline for registration is May 9. Go here for more information.

Symposium on Strawberry
Creek Held Tomorrow

Lab employees are invited to attend the inaugural “Evening On Strawberry Creek” symposium, tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. in U.C. Berkeley’s Alumni House. The event is sponsored by the campus’s Office of Environment, Health & Safety and the Strawberry Creek Fund. Topics include recent restoration activities, projects for riparian renewal, student research, and a panel discussion on the future of Strawberry Creek. Go here for more information and to RSVP.

IN MEMORIAM

Farrell

Energy Expert Alex Farrell Has Died

Alexander Farrell, an associate professor in the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, who worked closely with state government over the past year to chart a course to reduce California's carbon emissions, died last week at his home in San Francisco. He was 46. Farrell, who joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 2003 and became director of the campus's Transportation Sustainability Research Center in 2006, was recognized internationally as a leading expert on transportation fuels and the role of transportation in climate change. He was a guest in Berkeley Lab’s Earth Sciences Division. Full story.